Systems and methods for processing trailer repair requests submitted by carriers

ABSTRACT

In some embodiments, methods and systems are provided for facilitating submission of repair requests by carriers having to repair trailers to domicile facilities associated with the trailers. A central computing device provides a first graphical interface accessible by a computing device of a carrier having to repair a trailer in order to permit the carrier to submit a repair request indicating repair needed for the trailer. The central computing device then generates an invoice for the repair to the trailer directed to a domicile facility associated with the trailer. The central computing device also transmits an alert including the invoice to a computing device of the domicile facility associated with the trailer, receives a response from the computing device of the domicile facility associated with the trailer, and transmits a notification indicating whether the repair request has been approved by the domicile facility associated with the trailer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/883,816, filed Jan. 30, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/464,563, filed Feb. 28, 2017, each ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to managing trailer repair and, inparticular, to processing trailer repair requests submitted by carriers.

BACKGROUND

Carriers that haul loads of products between various facilities of aretailer typically use leased trailers. The trailers are typicallyleased from a trailer leasing agency by a retailer, assigned to trailerdomicile facilities of carriers who haul loads for the retailer usingthe trailers, and returned to the trailer leasing agency by the retailerin an agreed upon condition upon the conclusion of the lease. Trailerssometimes break down and require repairs during use by the carriers.Generally, when a trailer is within a predetermined time period of beingreturned to the trailer leasing agency, the trailer can be returned to atrailer domicile facility of the carrier in order to perform any repairsnecessary to bring the trailer to the turn-in condition agreed uponbetween the retailer and the trailer leasing agency. Any repair notcompleted before turning the trailer in to the trailer leasing agencybecomes the financial responsibility of the retailer. This undesirablyleads to situations, where the retailer ends up paying for repairs totrailer problems that occurred while the carrier was using the trailerto transport loads for the retailer, and which should have been theresponsibility of the carrier and should have been repaired at thetrailer domicile facility before the trailer was turned in to thetrailer leasing agency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Disclosed herein are embodiments of systems, apparatuses, methods, andsystems pertaining to facilitating submission of repair requests bycarriers having to repair trailers to domicile facilities associatedwith the trailers. This description includes drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system of for facilitating submission of repairrequests by carriers having to repair trailers to domicile facilitiesassociated with the trailers in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a functional diagram of an exemplary central computing deviceusable with the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a screen shot of a portion of an exemplary first graphicalinterface of the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of a portion of an exemplary first graphicalinterface of the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a screen shot of a portion of an exemplary second graphicalinterface of the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a portion of an exemplary second graphicalinterface of the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments;and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart diagram of a process of facilitating submissionof repair requests by carriers having to repair trailers to domicilefacilities associated with the trailers in accordance with someembodiments.

Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity andhave not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/orrelative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may beexaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understandingof various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common butwell-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commerciallyfeasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a lessobstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in aparticular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art willunderstand that such specificity with respect to sequence is notactually required. The terms and expressions used herein have theordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressionsby persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above exceptwhere different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but ismade merely for the purpose of describing the general principles ofexemplary embodiments. Reference throughout this specification to “oneembodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of thepresent invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,”“in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specificationmay, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

Generally speaking, pursuant to various embodiments, systems and methodsare provided for facilitating submission of repair requests by carriershaving to repair trailers to domicile facilities associated with thetrailers. A central computing device provides a graphical interfaceaccessible by a computing device of a carrier having to repair a trailerin order to permit the carrier to submit a repair request indicatingrepair needed for the trailer. The central computing device thengenerates an invoice for the repair to the trailer directed to adomicile facility associated with the trailer. The central computingdevice also transmits an alert including the invoice to a computingdevice of the domicile facility associated with the trailer, receives aresponse from the computing device of the domicile facility associatedwith the trailer, and transmits a notification indicating whether therepair request was approved by the trailer domicile facility.

In some embodiments, a system for facilitating submission of repairrequests by carriers having to repair trailers to domicile facilitiesassociated with the trailers includes a central computing deviceincluding a processor-based control circuit and configured forcommunication with computing devices of the carriers over acommunication network and an electronic database in communication withthe central computing device and the computing devices of the pluralityof carriers over the communication network. The central computing deviceis configured to provide a first graphical interface accessible on thecentral computing device over the communication network by a computingdevice of a carrier having to repair a trailer. The first graphicalinterface is also configured to permit the carrier to submit, to thecentral computing device and via the computing device of the carrier, arepair request indicating repair needed for the trailer. The centralcomputing device is further configured to: generate, based on the repairrequest submitted by the carrier, an invoice for the repair to thetrailer that is directed to a domicile facility associated with thetrailer; transmit an alert including the invoice over the communicationnetwork to a computing device of the domicile facility associated withthe trailer; receive from the computing device of the domicile facilityassociated with the trailer and over the communication network, aresponse of the domicile facility to the repair request submitted by thecarrier; and transmit, over the communication network to the computingdevice of the carrier, a notification indicating whether the repairrequest has been approved by the domicile facility associated with thetrailer.

In some embodiments, a method for facilitating submission of repairrequests by carriers having to repair trailers to domicile facilitiesassociated with the trailers includes: providing a central computingdevice including a processor-based control circuit and configured forcommunication with computing devices of the carriers over acommunication network; providing an electronic database in communicationwith the central computing device and the computing devices of theplurality of carriers over the communication network; providing a firstgraphical interface accessible on the central computing device over thecommunication network by a computing device of a carrier having torepair a trailer and configured to permit the carrier to submit, to thecentral computing device and via the computing device of the carrier, arepair request indicating repair needed for the trailer; generating, atthe central computing device and based on the repair request submittedby the carrier, an invoice for the repair to the trailer that isdirected to a domicile facility associated with the trailer;transmitting, from the central computing device over the communicationnetwork to a computing device of the domicile facility associated withthe trailer, an alert including the invoice; receiving, at the centralcomputing device, a transmission over the communication network from thecomputing device of the domicile facility associated with the trailerindicating a response of the domicile facility to the repair requestsubmitted by the carrier; and transmitting, from the central computingdevice over the communication network to the computing device of thecarrier, a notification indicating whether the repair request has beenapproved by the domicile facility associated with the trailer.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a system 100 for system for facilitatingsubmission of repair requests, by carriers 180 having to repair trailers190, to domicile facilities 170 associated with the trailers 190. Acarrier 180 will be understood to mean any entity that transports loadsvia the trailers 190 for a retailer. A retailer will be understood tomean any entity operating as a brick-and-mortar physical store and/or awebsite by way of which products may be ordered by customers. A trailerdomicile facility 170 will be understood to mean a facility of thecarrier 180 that is assigned to the trailers 190 used by the carriers180 when hauling loads. Exemplary loads that may be transported bycarriers 180 may include, but are not limited to, general-purposecustomer goods, as well as consumable products, such as medications,food items, and dietary supplements.

The system 100 depicted in FIG. 1 includes a central computing device115, which may be implemented as one computer/server at one facility ofthe retailer (e.g., data warehouse, etc.), or as multiple interconnectedcomputers/servers stored at multiple facilities. In some embodiments,the central computing device 115 is a stationary or portable electronicdevice, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, amobile phone, or any other electronic device including a processor-basedcontrol circuit (i.e., control unit). In the embodiment of FIG. 1, thecentral computing device 115 is configured for data entry and processingas well as for communication with other devices of system 100 via anetwork 120.

The network 120 may be a wide-area network (WAN), a local area network(LAN), a personal area network (PAN), a wireless local area network(WLAN), or any other internet or intranet network, or combinations ofsuch networks. Generally, communication between various electronicdevices of system 100 may take place over hard-wired, wireless,cellular, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth networked components or the like. In someembodiments, one or more electronic devices of system 100 may includecloud-based features, such as cloud-based memory storage. In someembodiments, as will be described below, the central computing device115 is configured to access an electronic database 130 and/orcommunicate with a carrier computing device 185 and/or communicate witha trailer domicile facility computing device 175 via the network 120 tofacilitate the submission and/or processing of a repair request to adomicile facility 170 associated with a trailer 190 that is submitted bya carrier 180 having to repair trailer 190.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the central computing device 115 is coupledto an electronic database 130. In some embodiments, the electronicdatabase 130 may be configured to store information associated with therepair requests for trailers 190 that are submitted by carriers 180 torespective trailer domicile facilities 170 associated with such trailers190. Generally, the electronic database 130 stores electronicinformation including but not limited to information associated with thecarriers 180 and trailers 190 in use by the carriers 180 to transportloads, as well as information associated with trailer domicilefacilities 170 and the trailer repair requests submitted by the carriers180 to the trailer domicile facilities 170. The electronic database 130may be stored, for example, on non-volatile storage media (e.g., a harddrive, flash drive, or removable optical disk) internal or external tothe central computing device 115, or internal or external to computingdevices separate and distinct from the central computing device 115. Itwill be appreciated that the electronic database 130 may likewise becloud-based. While the central computing device 115 is shown in FIG. 1in communication over the network 120 with one electronic database(i.e., database 130), it will be appreciated that the central computingdevice 115 may be coupled via the network 120 to two or more electronicdatabases.

In some embodiments, a carrier 180 is permitted to set up an account foruse in submitting repair requests for trailers 190 used by the carrier180. In one aspect, when a carrier 180 initially sets up an onlineaccount, the system 100 (e.g., central computing device 115) isconfigured to permit the carrier 180 to generate a carrier profileincluding information of the carrier 180 (e.g., name, address, otheridentifying information (e.g., Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAS)),phone number, financial information (e.g., bank account information),and the like). In some embodiments, the information associated with thecarriers 180 is stored in the electronic database 130 for subsequentretrieval by the central computing device 115 (e.g., in response to arepair request for a trailer 190 submitted by the carrier 180).

A carrier 180 may access the central computing device 115 over thenetwork 120 via a carrier computing device 185, which may be astationary, portable, and/or hand-held electronic device, for example, adesktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a mobile phone, or anyother electronic, processor-based device configured for data entry andcommunication with the central computing device 115. In some aspects, asthe carrier 180 is connecting over the network 120 to the centralcomputing device 115, the central computing device 115 may request averification of the identity (e.g., username/password) of the carrier180. The central computing device 115 may first verify the identity ofthe carrier 180 (e.g., by comparing the username/password data enteredby the carrier 180 into the login interface against username/passworddata in the profile of the carrier 180 stored in the electronic database130). The central computing device 115 may then associate the profile ofthe carrier 180 with the identity of the carrier 180, retrieve carrieraccount information stored in the profile and enable the carrier 180 tolog in to the central computing device 115.

In some aspects, the central computing device 115 is configured toenable the carriers 180 to enter electronic data pertaining to repairrequests, for one or more trailers 190 used by the carriers 180 whenhauling loads, to the trailer domicile facilities 170 associated withsuch trailers 190. As mentioned above, the trailer domicile facility 170can be operated by the carrier 180 (or by a third party for the carrier180). In one aspect, the central computing device 115 is configured togenerate a first graphical interface 125 accessible by the carriers 180via carrier computing devices 185 that are logged in to the centralcomputing device 115. In some embodiments, the graphical interface 125is configured to permit the carriers 180 to submit their trailer repairrequests without having to log in to the central computing device 115.For example, first graphical interface 125 can be an internet-based formhaving a defined uniform resource locator (URL) address and beingaccessible via an internet browser of the carrier computing device 185,or can be generated within a mobile application (app) installed on thecarrier computing device 185.

A portion of an exemplary first graphical interface 325 is illustratedin FIG. 3 and another portion of an exemplary first graphical interface425 is illustrated in FIG. 4. The first graphical interface 325 of FIG.3 includes a clickable graphical field 326 (i.e., “New Repair” button)that permits a carrier 180 to enter electronic data relating to a repairrequest submitted by the carrier 180 for a given trailer 190 to atrailer domicile facility 170 associated with that trailer 190. Forexample, after a trailer 190 being used by a carrier 180 to haul a loadbreaks down and/or otherwise requires repair, the carrier 180 can obtaina repair estimate from a trailer repair facility, and then log in to thecentral computing device 115 to submit the repair request to thedomicile facility 170 associated with the trailer 170. In one aspect,after an operator of a carrier computing device 185 logs in to thecentral computing device 115, the first graphical interface 425 isgenerated by the central computing device 115 and displayed on thescreen of the carrier computing device 185, enabling the operator of thecarrier computing device 185 to click on the graphical button 326 inorder to bring up another portion of the first graphical interface 525on the screen of the carrier computing device 185, where the operator ofthe carrier computing device 185 can enter all information relevant tothe repair request being submitted by the carrier 180.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the first graphical interface425 enables the operator of the carrier computing device 185 to specifyvarious parameters relating to the repair request. With reference toFIG. 4, the carrier 180 may use the carrier computing device 185 toenter, via one or more of the editable fields of the exemplary firstgraphical interface 425, electronic data including but not limited to:trailer identifying information; carrier identifying information;trailer domicile facility number; carrier contact name, carrier emailaddress, carrier contact phone number; repair location identifyinginformation; repair identifying information (e.g., damagedparts/components repaired and/or broken parts/components replaced);dollar amount per each repair/replacement; day/time when estimate forrepair/replacement was obtained.

For example, the first graphical interface 425 of FIG. 4 includes a“Trailer” section including a drop-down menu field 427, where theoperator of the carrier computing device 185 can specify the identity ofthe trailer 190 for which the repair request is being submitted. Thefirst graphical interface 425 also includes text input fields 428, wherethe operator of the carrier computing device 185 can insert theinformation that identifies the carrier 180, trailer domicile facility170, as well as carrier contact name, email address, and phone number.The first graphical interface 425 also includes a “Repair Info” sectionincluding a drop-down menu field 427, where the operator of the carriercomputing device 185 can specify the identity of the repair facilitywhere the estimate for repairs to the trailer 190 was obtained, and atext input field 428, where the operator of the carrier computing device185 can specify the amount of the repairs made.

In addition the first graphical interface 425 of FIG. 4 includes a“Repair Lines” section including text input fields 428, where theoperator of the carrier computing device 185 can specify, line by line,each repair that the carrier 180 obtained an estimate for from therepair facility. The first graphical interface 425 of FIG. 4 furtherincludes an “Attachments” section including a clickable graphical button426 that enables the operator of the carrier computing device 185 toupload an electronic copy of the estimate obtained by the carrier 180from the repair facility. The first graphical interface 425 of FIG. 4further includes a clickable graphical button 426 that enables theoperator of the carrier computing device 185 to submit the repairrequest to the central computing device 115. It will be appreciated thatthe first graphical interface 425 shown in FIG. 4 is shown by way ofexample only, and that the locations, sizes, and types of fields shownas part of the first graphical interface 425 as exemplary and can bereconfigured in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the first graphical interface 425 is configured topermit the carrier 180 to submit the repair request only if the repairrequest is for a monetary amount that exceeds a predetermined threshold.In one aspect, the first graphical interface 425 is configured such thatthe graphical button 426 that causes the repair request to be submittedis only clickable by the operator of the carrier computing device 185when the repair request is for a monetary amount that exceeds apredetermined monetary threshold. The predetermined threshold may be anymonetary amount considered by the carrier 180 and/or trailer domicilefacility 170 to be a significant repair to the trailer 190, for example,$100, $200, $300, $400, $500, $750, $1000, etc.

With reference to FIG. 2, an exemplary central computing device 115configured for use with the systems and methods described herein mayinclude a control circuit 210 including a processor (for example, amicroprocessor or a microcontroller) electrically coupled via aconnection 215 to a memory 220 and via a connection 225 to a powersupply 230. The control unit 210 can comprise a fixed-purpose hard-wiredplatform or can comprise a partially or wholly programmable platform,such as a microcontroller, an application specification integratedcircuit, a field programmable gate array, and so on. These architecturaloptions are well known and understood in the art and require no furtherdescription here.

The control unit 210 of the central computing device 115 can beconfigured (for example, by using corresponding programming stored inthe memory 220 as will be well understood by those skilled in the art)to carry out one or more of the steps, actions, and/or functionsdescribed herein. In some embodiments, the memory 220 may be integral tothe processor-based control unit 210 or can be physically discrete (inwhole or in part) from the control unit 210 and is configurednon-transitorily store the computer instructions that, when executed bythe control unit 210, cause the control unit 210 to behave as describedherein. (As used herein, this reference to “non-transitorily” will beunderstood to refer to a non-ephemeral state for the stored contents(and hence excludes when the stored contents merely constitute signalsor waves) rather than volatility of the storage media itself and henceincludes both non-volatile memory (such as read-only memory (ROM)) aswell as volatile memory (such as an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM))). Accordingly, the memory and/or the control unit may bereferred to as a non-transitory medium or non-transitory computerreadable medium.

The control unit 210 of the central computing device 115 is electricallycoupled via a connection 235 to an input/output 240 that can receivesignals from electronic devices in communication over the network 120with the central computing device 115 (e.g., data from the carriercomputing device 185 relating to a repair request being submitted by thecarrier 180, data from the trailer domicile facility computing device175 indicating a response to (e.g., approval or denial) the repairrequest submitted by the carrier 180, etc.). The input/output 240 of thecentral computing device 115 can also send signals to electronic devicesin communication over the network 120 with the central computing device115 (e.g., carrier-submitted data relating to a repair request to theelectronic database 130, trailer domicile facility 170-uploaded dataresponsive to a repair request to electronic database 130, etc.).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the processor-based control unit 210of the central computing device 115 is electrically coupled via aconnection 245 to a user interface 250, which may include a visualdisplay or display screen 260 (e.g., LED screen) and/or button input 270that provide the user interface 250 with the ability to permit anoperator of the central computing device 115 to manually control thecentral computing device 115 by inputting commands via touch-screenand/or button operation and/or voice commands. It will be appreciatedthat the performance of such functions by the processor-based controlunit 210 of the central computing device 115 is not dependent on a humanoperator, and that the control unit 210 may be programmed to performsuch functions without a human operator.

In some embodiments, the display screen 260 of central computing device115 is configured to display various graphical interface-based menus,options, and/or notifications/alerts that may be transmitted to thecentral computing device 115 and displayed on the display screen 260 inconnection with various aspects of the repair requests submitted by thecarriers 180 and approvals/denials by the trailer domicile facilities170. The inputs 270 of the central computing device 115 may beconfigured to permit an operator to navigate through the on-screen menuson the central computing device 115. It will be appreciated that thedisplay screen 260 may be configured as both a display screen and aninput 270 (e.g., a touch-screen that permits an operator to press on thedisplay screen 260 to enter text and/or execute commands.)

As discussed above, in some aspects, the control circuit 210 of thecentral computing device 115 is programmed to generate a first graphicalinterface 125 accessible on the central computing device 115 over thecommunication network 120 by a computing device 185 of a carrier 180having to repair a trailer 190. As discussed above, this first graphicalinterface 425 is configured (e.g., by including clickable graphicalbuttons 426, drop-down menus 427, and text input fields 428) to permitthe carrier 180, via the carrier computing device 185, to submit one ormore trailer repair requests. In some embodiments, after a repairrequest is submitted by the carrier 180 as discussed above, the controlcircuit 210 of the central computing device 115 is programmed to processand/or extract the information submitted in the repair request, and tocause the central computing device 115 to transmit the informationextracted from the repair request submitted by the carrier 180 to theelectronic database 130 for storage and/or future retrieval by thecentral computing device 115 (e.g., to determine most often occurringrepairs required by trailers 190).

In one aspect, after the control circuit 210 processes the electronicinformation submitted by the carrier 180 via the first graphicalinterface 425 as part of a repair request for a trailer 190, the controlcircuit 210 is programmed to generate an invoice directed to the trailerdomicile facility 170 associated with that trailer 190, with the invoiceto the trailer domicile facility 170 reflecting the repair to thetrailer 190 indicated in the repair request submitted by the carrier180. In some embodiments, after the control circuit 210 of the centralcomputing device 115 processes the repair request for a trailer 190submitted by the carrier 180 and generates an invoice to the trailerdomicile facility 170 associated the trailer 190, the control circuit210 of the central computing device 115 is programmed to transmit (overthe network 120) a signal including an electronic alert or notificationto the computing device 175 of the trailer domicile facility 170.

In some aspects, the electronic notification sent by the centralcomputing device 115 over the network 120 to the trailer domicilecarrier computing device 175 includes but is not limited to a shortmessage service (SMS) message, an electronic mail (e-mail) message, aninstant messenger message, and/or a push notification. The electronicnotification, when received by the computing device 175 of the trailerdomicile facility 170, indicates to the trailer domicile facility 170that a repair request for one of the trailers 190 domiciled at thisfacility has been submitted by a carrier 180. As will be described inmore detail below, in some embodiments, after a trailer domicilefacility 170 receives a notification of a repair request for a trailer190 submitted by a carrier 180, the trailer domicile facility 170 canlog in to the central computing device 115.

In some embodiments, when a trailer domicile facility 170 initially setsup an online account, the system 100 (e.g., central computing device115) is configured to permit the trailer domicile facility 170 togenerate a carrier profile including information of the trailer domicilefacility 170 (e.g., name, address, other identifying and/or contact(e.g., phone, email, etc.) information), financial information (e.g.,bank account information), and identifying information for each trailer190 associated with the trailer domicile facility 170). Again, since thetrailer domicile facility 170 is in some aspects operated by the carrier180, some of the identifying information associated with the carrier 180and the trailer domicile facility 170 may overlap. In some embodiments,all information associated with the trailer domicile facilities 170 isstored in the electronic database 130 for subsequent retrieval by thecentral computing device 115 (e.g., when the control circuit 210receives and/or processes a trailer repair request).

A trailer domicile facility 170 may access the central computing device115 over the network 120 via a trailer domicile facility computingdevice 175, which may be a stationary, portable, and/or hand-heldelectronic device, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, atablet, a mobile phone, or any other electronic, processor-based deviceconfigured for data entry and communication with the central computingdevice 115. In some aspects, as the trailer domicile facility 170 isconnecting over the network 120 to the central computing device 115 viathe trailer domicile facility computing device 175, the centralcomputing device 115 may request a verification of the identity (e.g.,username/password) of the trailer domicile facility 170. The centralcomputing device 115 may first verify the identity of the trailerdomicile facility 170 (e.g., by comparing the username/password dataentered by the trailer domicile facility 170 into the login interfaceagainst username/password data in the profile of the trailer domicilefacility 170 stored in the electronic database 130). The centralcomputing device 115 then associates the profile of the trailer domicilefacility 170 with the identity of the trailer domicile facility 170,retrieves trailer domicile facility account information stored in theprofile, and enables the carrier computing device 185 to log in to thecentral computing device 115.

In some embodiments, after the trailer domicile facility computingdevice 175 is permitted to log in to the central computing device 115,the operator (e.g., employee or manager) of the trailer domicilefacility 170 is permitted to browse through a listing of repair requestssubmitted by drivers of a carrier 180 to that trailer domicile facility170 in order to view the repair request, and to either approve or denythe repair request. In some aspects, after the operator of the trailerdomicile facility 170 logs in to the central computing device 115 inresponse to a notification of a repair request, the control circuit 210of the central computing device 115 is programmed to generate (andpresent on a display screen of the trailer domicile facility computingdevice 175) a second graphical interface 535 shown in FIG. 5. Similarlyto the first graphical interface 125, 325, 425, the second graphicalinterface 135, 535, 635, can be an internet-based form accessible by thecarriers 180 via a trailer domicile facility computing device 175 loggedin to the central computing device 115. In some embodiments, instead ofbeing an internet-based form having a defined uniform resource locator(URL) address and accessible via an internet browser of the trailerdomicile facility computing device 175, the second graphical interface535 can be generated within a mobile application (app) installed on thetrailer domicile facility computing device 175.

A portion of an exemplary second graphical interface 535 and 635 isillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively. Notably, in order to permitthe operator of the trailer domicile facility computing device 175 toreview the repair request, the second graphical interface 535, 635 caninclude either the entire first graphical interface 435 (where thecarrier 180 entered the repair request information), or text fieldsindicating the information extracted by the control circuit 210 of thecentral computing device 115 from the repair request submitted by thecarrier 180.

The exemplary second graphical interface 535, 635 of FIGS. 5-6 includesa drop-down menu field 537, 637 that permits the operator of the trailerdomicile facility computing device 175 to approve or deny the repairrequest submitted by the carrier 160. For example, FIG. 5 shows ascenario, where the operator of the trailer domicile facility computingdevice 175 approved the repair request, and FIG. 6 illustrates ascenario, where the operator of the trailer domicile facility computingdevice 175 denied the repair request. The exemplary second graphicalinterface 535 shown in FIG. 5 further includes a text input field 539that permits the operator of the trailer domicile facility computingdevice 175 to enter a reference number of the approved repair request.The exemplary second graphical interface 635 shown in FIG. 6 furtherincludes a text input field 639 that permits the operator of the trailerdomicile facility computing device 175 to type in reasons indicating whythe repair request was denied.

In some embodiments, after the operator of the trailer domicile facilitycomputing device 175 responds to the repair request of the carrier 160by approving the repair request via the second graphical interface 535as described above, the central computing device 115 receives thisresponse over the network 120 from the trailer domicile facilitycomputing device 175, the control circuit 210 of the central computingdevice 115 is programmed to record this approval-indicating response inthe electronic database 130, and to cause the central computing device115 to transmit to a carrier computing device 185, an electronicnotification or alert over the network 120 indicating to the carrier 180that the repair request has been approved by the trailer domicilefacility 170. In one aspect, the electronic notification transmittedfrom the central computing device 115 to the carrier computing device185 includes an electronic document (e.g., in .docx, .pdf, or xlsxformat) that represents a purchase order from the trailer domicilefacility 170 that covers the repairs indicated in the repair requestsubmitted by the carrier 180 and approved by the operator of the trailerdomicile facility computing device 175.

In some aspects, after the trailer domicile facility 170 approves therepair request, and after the carrier 180 is provided with a purchaseorder covering the repairs as described above, and after the carrier 180proceeds with repairing the trailer 190, the carrier 180 is permitted tolog in to the central computing device 115 in order to indicate that therepairs approved by the carrier domicile facility 170 have been made tothe trailer 190 at a repair facility initially indicated in the repairrequest submitted by the carrier 180. In one aspect, after receiving anotification from the carrier 180 indicating that the repairs have beenmade, the control circuit 210 of the central computing device 115 isprogrammed to access the electronic database 130 over the communicationnetwork 120, retrieve the repair request stored in the electronicdatabase 130 in association with the trailer 190, and generate a reportindicating the repairs made to the trailer 190. In one aspect, thecontrol circuit 210 of the central computing device 115 is programmed toinclude in the report an identification of each facility where repairsto the trailer 190 were made, each carrier facility where the trailer190 stopped, and the trailer domicile facility 170 of the trailer 190.

In some embodiments, after the operator of the trailer domicile facilitycomputing device 175 responds to the repair request of the carrier 160by denying the repair request via the second graphical interface 635 asdescribed above, and after the central computing device 115 receivesthis response over the network 120 from the trailer domicile facilitycomputing device 175, the control circuit 210 of the central computingdevice 115 is programmed to record this denial-indicating response inthe electronic database 130, and to cause the central computing device115 to transmit (e.g., over the network 120) to a computing device 185of the carrier 180, an electronic notification or alert indicating tothe carrier 180 that the repair request has been denied by the trailerdomicile facility 170. In one aspect, the electronic notification oralert transmitted from the central computing device 115 to the carriercomputing device 185 includes an electronic document (e.g., in .docx,.pdf, or xlsx format) that represents the written justificationsubmitted by the trailer domicile facility 170 that provides the reasonsindicating why the repair request submitted by the carrier 180 wasdenied by the trailer domicile facility 170.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of an exemplary method 700 of facilitatingsubmission of repair requests by carriers 180 having to repair trailers190 to domicile facilities 170 associated with the trailers 190. Themethod 700 includes providing a central computing device 115 including aprocessor-based control circuit 210 and configured for communicationwith computing devices of the carriers 180 over a communication network120 (step 710). In addition, the method 700 of FIG. 7 includes providingan electronic database 130 in communication with the central computingdevice 115 and the computing devices 185 of the plurality of carriers180 over the communication network 120 (step 720).

As described above, in some embodiments, carriers 180 are permitted tosubmit repair requests for trailers 190 associated with trailer domicilefacilities 170. In one aspect, as discussed above, the method 700includes, providing a first graphical interface 435 accessible on thecentral computing device 115 over the communication network 120 by acomputing device 185 of a carrier 180 having to repair a trailer 190,such that the first graphical interface 435 is configured to permit thecarrier 180 to submit, to the central computing device 115 and via thecarrier computing device 185, a repair request indicating the repairneeded for the trailer 190 (step 730). Portions of exemplary firstgraphical interface 325, 425 are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4,respectively, and have been discussed in more detail above.

As discussed above, in one aspect, the method 700 includes processing,via the control circuit 210 of the central computing device 115, therepair request received by the central computing device 115 from thecarrier computing devices 185. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, after thecontrol circuit 210 of the central computing device 115 processes theinformation submitted by the carrier 180 in the repair request, themethod 700 further includes generating, at the central computing device115, and based on the repair request submitted by the carrier 180, aninvoice directed to a domicile facility 170 associated with the trailer190 and reflecting the repairs indicated in the repair request submittedby the carrier 180 with respect to the trailer 190 (step 740).

After the invoice for estimated repairs to the trailer 190 is generatedat the central computing device 115, the exemplary method 700 of FIG. 7further includes transmitting, from the central computing device 115over the communication network 120 to a computing device 175 of thedomicile facility 170 associated with the trailer 190, an alertincluding the invoice (step 750). As discussed above, the electronicalert or notification sent by the central computing device 115 over thenetwork 120 to the trailer domicile facility computing device 175 caninclude but is not limited to a short message service (SMS) message, anelectronic mail (e-mail) message, an instant messenger message, and/or apush notification.

After the trailer domicile facility 170 receives a notification from thecentral computing device 115 indicating that a carrier 180 has filed arepair request with respect to a trailer 190 associated with a trailerdomicile facility 170, the trailer domicile facility 170 is permitted tolog in to the central computing device 115, review the repair request,and approve or deny the repair request via an exemplary second graphicalinterface 535, 635, which was described in more detail above withreference to FIGS. 5 and 6. To that end, the method 700 of FIG. 7includes receiving, at the central computing device 115, a transmissionover the communication network 120 from the computing device 175 of thedomicile facility 170 associated with the trailer 190 indicating aresponse of the trailer domicile facility 170 to the repair requestsubmitted by the carrier 180 (step 760).

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the method 700 further includestransmitting, from the central computing device 115 over thecommunication network 120 to the computing device 185 of the carrier180, a notification indicating whether the repair request has beenapproved by the domicile facility 170 associated with the trailer 190(step 770). In some embodiments, after the trailer domicile facility 170responds to the repair request of the carrier 160 by approving therepair request, the central computing device 115 records theapproval-indicating response of the trailer domicile facility 170 in theelectronic database 130 for record-keeping, and transmits over thenetwork 120 an electronic notification to the carrier computing device185 to indicate to the carrier 180 that the repair request has beenapproved by the trailer domicile facility 170. In one aspect, thiselectronic notification includes a purchase order from the trailerdomicile facility 170 that covers the approved repairs indicated in therepair request submitted by the carrier 180. The carrier 180 can thenuse this purchase order to pay the repair facility after the repairfacility performs the approved repairs to the trailer 190.

In one aspect, after the carrier 180 pays for the completed repairs tothe trailer 190 at the repair facility via the purchase order providedby the trailer domicile facility 170, an operator of the carriercomputing device 185 transmits a notification to the central computingdevice 115 over the network 120 to indicate that the repairs to thetrailer 190 have been made. The central computing device 115 thenaccesses the electronic database 130 over the network 120, retrieves therepair request stored in the electronic database 130 in association withthe trailer 190, and generates a report indicating the repairs that weremade to the trailer 190 referenced in the repair request. In one aspect,the generated report includes an identification of each facility whererepairs to the trailer 190 were made, each facility of the carrier 180where the trailer 190 stopped, and the trailer domicile facility 170associated with the trailer 190. In some aspects, such reports can beused not only as a record of repairs made by a carrier 180 with respectto a given trailer 190 during use, but also to identify commonrepair-requiring problems that are missed (i.e., not repaired in advanceprior to returning the trailer 190 to a trailer leasing agency) by oneor more carriers 180.

In some embodiments, after the trailer domicile facility 170 responds tothe repair request of the carrier 160 by denying the repair request, thecentral computing device 115 records the denial-indicating response ofthe trailer domicile facility 170 in the electronic database 130, andtransmits over the network 120 an electronic notification to the carriercomputing device 185 to indicate to the carrier 180 that the repairrequest has been denied by the trailer domicile facility 170. In oneaspect, the electronic notification or alert transmitted from thecentral computing device 115 to the carrier computing device 185 caninclude a written justification submitted by the trailer domicilefacility 170 that provides the reasons indicating why the repair requestsubmitted by the carrier 180 was denied by the trailer domicile facility170.

The systems and methods described herein advantageously allow carriersto easily submit trailer repair requests to a trailer domicile facilitywhile using the trailers to haul loads for a retailer, but also enablethe trailer domicile facilities to easily review, approve and/or denythe repair requests, and provide the carrier with a purchase order forapproved trailer repairs and/or a written justification for deniedtrailer repairs. Such systems and methods not only provide an easy touse system for carriers that haul loads for a retailer using trailersthat are leased and later returned to trailer leasing agencies, but alsoprovide a clear record of repair-requiring issues associated with thetrailers and permit appropriate allocation of financial responsibilityfor such repairs.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of othermodifications, alterations, and combinations can also be made withrespect to the above described embodiments without departing from thescope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, andcombinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventiveconcept.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for facilitating submission of repairrequests by carriers having to repair trailers to domicile facilitiesassociated with the trailers, the system comprising: a plurality ofcomputing devices of a plurality of carriers, the computing devices ofthe carriers configured send and receive signals over a communicationnetwork; a plurality of computing devices of a plurality of domicilefacilities associated with the trailers, the computing devices of thedomicile facilities associated with the trailers configured send andreceive signals over the communication network; a central computingdevice including a processor-based control circuit and configured forcommunication with the computing devices of the carriers and with thecomputing devices of the domicile facilities associated with thetrailers over the communication network; an electronic database incommunication with the central computing device; wherein the centralcomputing device is configured to: receive, from the computing device ofthe carrier, a repair request indicating repair needed for the trailer;transmit, over the communication network, an alert including anelectronic invoice directed to a domicile facility associated with thetrailer to a computing device of the domicile facility associated withthe trailer; receive from the computing device of the domicile facilityassociated with the trailer and over the communication network, aresponse of the domicile facility to the repair request submitted by thecarrier; and transmit, over the communication network to the computingdevice of the carrier, a notification indicating whether the repairrequest submitted by the carrier has been approved by the domicilefacility associated with the trailer.
 2. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first repair request indicating the repair needed for the trailer isreceived by the central computing device from the computing device ofthe carrier via an internet-based form including a plurality ofdrop-down menus, text input fields, and clickable graphical buttons, theinternet-based form being accessible on the computing device of thecarrier having to repair the trailer without the carrier logging intothe central computing device.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein theinternet-based form is configured to permit the carrier to submit therepair request only if the repair request is for a monetary amount thatexceeds a predetermined threshold.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thecentral computing device is configured to receive a transmission overthe communication network from the computing device of the domicilefacility indicating approval of the repair request by the domicilefacility and including a purchase order covering the repair indicated inthe approved repair request.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein thecentral computing device is configured to transmit, over thecommunication network to the computing device of the carrier, anotification indicating approval of the repair request by the domicilefacility and including the purchase order.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the central computing device is configured to receive atransmission over the communication network from the computing device ofthe domicile facility indicating denial of the repair request by thedomicile facility and including a written justification for the denialof the repair request.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the centralcomputing device is configured to transmit, over the communicationnetwork to the computing device of the carrier, a notificationindicating denial of the repair request by the domicile facility andincluding the written justification.
 8. The system of claim 1, whereinthe electronic database is configured to store the repair requests forthe trailers submitted by carriers, and wherein the central computingdevice is configured to transmit the repair request submitted by thecarrier from the central computing device over the communication networkto the electronic database for storage.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein the central computing device is configured to: access theelectronic database over the communication network; retrieve at leastone repair request stored in the electronic database in association withat least one of the trailers; and generate a report indicating repairsmade to the at least one trailer indicated in the at least one repairrequest.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the central computing deviceis further configured to include in the report an identification of atleast one of: each facility where repairs to the at least one trailerwere made; each carrier facility where the at least one trailer stopped,and the domicile facility associated with the at least one trailer. 11.A method for facilitating submission of repair requests by carriershaving to repair trailers to domicile facilities associated with thetrailers, the method comprising: providing a plurality of computingdevices of a plurality of carriers, the computing devices of thecarriers configured send and receive signals over a communicationnetwork; providing a plurality of computing devices of a plurality ofdomicile facilities associated with the trailers, the computing devicesof the domicile facilities associated with the trailers configured sendand receive signals over the communication network; providing a centralcomputing device including a processor-based control circuit andconfigured for communication with the computing devices of the carriersand with the computing devices of the domicile facilities associatedwith the trailers over the communication network; providing anelectronic database in communication with the central computing device;receiving, via the computing device of the carrier, a repair requestindicating repair needed for the trailer; transmitting, over thecommunication network, from the central computing device to a computingdevice of a domicile facility associated with the trailer, an alertincluding an electronic invoice directed to the domicile facilityassociated with the trailer; receiving, at the central computing device,a transmission over the communication network from the computing deviceof the domicile facility associated with the trailer indicating aresponse of the domicile facility to the repair request submitted by thecarrier; and transmitting, from the central computing device over thecommunication network to the computing device of the carrier, anotification indicating whether the repair request submitted by thecarrier has been approved by the domicile facility associated with thetrailer.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first repair requestindicating the repair needed for the trailer is received by the centralcomputing device from the computing device of the carrier via is aninternet-based form including a plurality of drop-down menus, text inputfields, and clickable graphical buttons, the internet-based form beingaccessible on the computing device of the carrier having to repair thetrailer without the carrier logging into the central computing device.13. The method of claim 12, further comprising permitting the carrier tosubmit the repair request via the internet-based form only if the repairrequest is for a monetary amount that exceeds a predetermined threshold.14. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of receiving thetransmission from the computing device of the domicile facilityassociated with the trailer indicating a response of the domicilefacility to the repair request submitted by the carrier furthercomprises receiving, at the central computing device, a transmissionover the communication network from the computing device of the domicilefacility indicating approval of the repair request by the domicilefacility and including a purchase order covering the repair indicated inthe approved repair request.
 15. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising transmitting, from the central computing device and over thecommunication network to the computing device of the carrier, anotification indicating approval of the repair request by the domicilefacility and including the purchase order.
 16. The method of claim 11,wherein the step of receiving the transmission from the computing deviceof the domicile facility indicating a response of the domicile facilityto the repair request submitted by the carrier further comprisesreceiving, at the central computing device, a transmission over thecommunication network from the computing device of the domicile facilityindicating denial of the repair request by the domicile facility andincluding a written justification for the denial of the repair request.17. The method of claim 16, further comprising transmitting, from thecentral computing device and over the communication network to thecomputing device of the carrier, a notification indicating denial of therepair request by the domicile facility and including the writtenjustification.
 18. The method of claim 11, further comprising storing onthe electronic database the repair requests for the trailers submittedby carriers, and wherein the step of providing the first graphicalinterface further comprises transmitting the repair request submitted bythe carrier from the central computing device over the communicationnetwork to the electronic database for storage.
 19. The method of claim18, further comprising: accessing the electronic database over thecommunication network via the central computing device; retrieving atleast one repair request stored in the electronic database inassociation with at least one of the trailers; generating, via thecentral computing device, a report indicating repairs made to the atleast one trailer indicated in the at least one repair request.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the step of generating the report furthercomprises including in the report an identification of at least one of:each facility where repairs to the at least one trailer were made; eachcarrier facility where the at least one trailer stopped, and thedomicile facility associated with the at least one trailer.